"Every generation has a tendency to overlook the past a bit more than they should," he explained.

A different generation like Bob Hatley's, who, at age 23, thinks the younger generation is more interested in pop culture than politics.

"People are focused with pop culture. Like I said, more people are more likely to mourn James Brown than Gerald Ford at this point," Hatley said.

But in the end, both agree Ford was an American icon.

"I think he and his wife and his family from all I knew were wonderful people," Parker said.

And Ford also has a special tie to Missouri. At the precise time Ford took the oath of office in Washington D.C., Nixon was flying high above mid-Missouri on his way back to California. To be precise, Nixon was above Brazito, in Cole County when the transfer of power became official. At that exact time the Boeing 707 carrying Nixon changed radio calls from Air Force-1 to S.A.M, or special air mission.

Ford will have memorial and funeral services in California, Washington, D.C., and Michigan before being laid to rest. A family spokesman detailed the late president's state funeral plans Wednesday night.

Ford will be afforded several historic firsts for a president, before he's laid to rest. His casket will be placed outside the doors of both the House and the Senate, before lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda. Ford's family spokesman says the tributes would have meant a lot to the former president.